Chancellor Financial Group WB LP Makes New Investment in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Chancellor Financial Group WB LP acquired a new stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 467 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its position in MSCI by 293.8% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its holdings in MSCI by 122.6% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 69 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 122.7% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 98 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSCI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $585.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $645.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.25, for a total transaction of $2,621,250.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 294,787 shares in the company, valued at $154,542,084.75. This trade represents a 1.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

MSCI Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of MSCI opened at $566.42 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $43.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $550.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $578.37. MSCI Inc. has a 1 year low of $475.32 and a 1 year high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $4.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $745.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $746.45 million. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.48%.

About MSCI

MSCI Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides critical decision support tools and solutions for the investment community to manage investment processes worldwide. The Index segment provides indexes for use in various areas of the investment process, including indexed financial product, such as ETFs, mutual funds, annuities, futures, options, structured products, and over-the-counter derivatives; performance benchmarking; portfolio construction and rebalancing; and asset allocation, as well as licenses GICS and GICS Direct.